Or Something
by Groundswell
Summary: After their fight Sirius storms off, but Joey follows. How does she manage to fix things between them? SB/OC


_A/N: I got the idea for this one day when I was bored, and couldn't write anything else. I always had pictured what happened between Joey and Sirius after the Barbie-encounter, but none of you would ever know that, and I thought of that as a shame. So here it is! If you don't know who I am talking about, it's okay. This can be read alone, but also as supplement to my story One Love Only (Go read it if you haven't!). :P And at last a thanks to my amazing Beta Kaitlyn! Now you can read :D_

**Or Something**

Lily's fanatic and ecstatic face along with James' amused, yet calm one was the last thing she saw before she spun around towards the portrait hole that had just swung shut. In a matter of seconds, she'd pushed her way through the crowd and tumbled out of the entrance, landing right on her butt. She just caught sight of his cloak around a corner and got up to follow him.

Then she stormed after him.

"Sirius!" she called out.

She was right behind him in the next corridor, but he didn't stop at her shout. She grumbled to herself and ran as fast as she could. He sped up at the sound of her, but never broke into a run like she did.

She caught up with him halfway down a staircase. He was faster than her, but she was able to get to him at last.

"Sirius," she said, grabbing his wrist. "Just stop for a second."

He spun around. "What?"

Yes, what? What should she say? How did you tell the guy you'd never gotten along with that you'd suddenly started fancying him? It was all so stupid. She looked away.

"I thought so," he muttered bitterly. He wrenched his wrist free and turned on his heel again.

"Um. I'm sorry, okay?" she said hopelessly.

He slowed down, but didn't come to a halt. She rushed down the staircase after him. He hurried down a corridor, but still didn't run. She was right behind him, almost running.

"Sirius, won't you just listen to me?" she asked, trying to keep her breath even.

"I have listened to you enough today," he said nonchalantly.

"Um, I don't think so!"

He stopped all of a sudden. She bumped into him, but stepped away quickly as he turned.

"Then what does the almighty Josephina Sands have to say that I need to listen to?"

She stepped back because of the toxic tone he used. "Um."

"You've said that a lot today," he said.

She clenched her teeth. "That's because I'm not sure how to let this out."

He studied his nails as if she was a less important matter at the moment. "Just spit it out, start at the beginning. I don't have all day, but it sounds as if you won't stop until I listen to you."

"You're right!" she said, and for the first time, she smiled. "I won't stop."

"I knew that already. You're a stubborn brat."

"So are you."

He looked at her, and their eyes met. Then, at the same time, they smiled, and a laugh escaped them both. Joey slowly licked her lips, studying Sirius. He was smiling slightly and she was sure he wasn't as mad as he pretended to be.

"Okaaaay?" he asked very slowly. She just looked at him. "You had something to say, right?"

She came back from her thoughts. "Oh, yeah."

"Then get on with it."

She bit her lower lip. "Um-"

"The 'um'-bit again?"

She placed a hand in his chest and shoved him softly. "Be nice Sirius, this takes a lot of courage and is actually a stroke right to my pride."

He rubbed his chest. "Oh, it must be bad then. It's just a 'sorry' what I was looking for."

"Yeah…" She cleared her throat. "That's not all."

Both of his eyebrows flew up. "It isn't?" She shook her head. "Then what is it?"

"Oh, Merlin this is strange," she muttered. "Okay, this is just something I have to try." He nodded silently. "Okay… Will you do me a favor?"

"Depends on what it is…"

He was amused and she couldn't blame him. She had to look like an idiot at the moment. But there was no turning back now.

"Just close your eyes," she said.

He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Just do it," she snapped.

"Fine, fine," he said, and he did it.

She bit her lower lip hardly. This was so dumb. So brainless. So foolish. It was so… She suddenly realized something… She could describe herself with all those words. It should be like drinking from her cup of tea, to do this, it couldn't be that hard. She was a girl that would do such a thing. The brainless ones. The foolish ones. Then why was she afraid?

She first realized that almost a minute had passed when Sirius moved and said, "Joey?"

"Oh, right," she said. "Sorry. Just a second."

He sighed and moved his weight from one leg to the other. Joey bit her lower lip, studying him. He looked so sweet just standing there, how could she even hesitate?

'Okay, here it goes,' she thought.

And before she could give it any other thought, she rose to her toes and planted her lips on his. He seemed totally unprepared for the kiss and several long seconds passed before he kissed her back. She broke away from him just then.

His eyes locked with hers and a frown slowly appeared on his face. She bit her lower lip again (a habit she'd gotten that showed her nervousness) and looked up at him through the hair that had fallen down in front of his eyes. He cleared his throat.

"And that was about…?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I have no idea."

"You don't?" he asked surprised, "Wow."

She sighed. "Fine, I do." She groaned, putting a hand to her forehead. "Sirius, what happened to me?"

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I-" She stopped, thinking. Then she sighed again. "Through the last few months, I have had this weird sensation in my stomach. It wouldn't go away no matter what I did and I wouldn't want to admit it to myself. Then, after having a long talk with Lily, and several other girls… I came to the conclusion that I was fancying someone." She looked away. "And well… This weird feeling in my stomach… It was strongest when you were around. When you were laughing, smiling or just talking. I realized you were the one I fancied." She sighed. "I – of course – denied it. I couldn't have a crush on the guy I really hated and couldn't get along with. It was too stupid. And then James said something… Something about not being able to choose the people we fancy. About not being able to control our feelings. And that no matter what, we shouldn't ever suppress our feelings. That's what I came to tell you tonight. All of this… I sort of fancy you." She looked up at him. "Am I completely out of my mind?"

He pursed his lips and the look matched his frown. "No, I don't think so. Well, basically I can agree with everything you just said. Especially the last part…" He sighed. "I guess I sort of fancy you too."

She smiled. "Really?"

He nodded. "I told you so earlier tonight, right? But you could just have spared me the long ramble and told me this at once."

"Oh yeah," she muttered. She stuffed her hands into her pockets and looked away.

"How did it come to this?" he asked with a sigh.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I think it all started that ridiculous summer."

"Talking about backlash, huh?"

"Do you think it's that bad?"

He looked at her. "Sorry, Joey, not like that. I just mean, you know, the irony of it all. We wanted to get Lily and James together. Now James is with another girl and Lily's finally opened up to some of her feelings, though neither of them has realized that they'd be better together. Instead, we became the victims."

She laughed. "Yeah, I see."

Silence followed that. They both looked around, not meeting the eyes of each other. At last, Sirius turned his gaze towards Joey, who looked down.

"So, are we getting together?" he blurted out.

She looked up at him, a smile appearing on her lips. "We could always give it a try."

"I'm all in," he said and put an arm around her shoulders.

They slowly started walking back towards Gryffindor Tower. They both looked straight ahead.

"So, you haven't ever been in love before nor had crushes?" he asked.

"Nope," she said. "You?"

"Nooo."

"Oh."

He sighed. "Do you think this is love?" he asked, musing.

She shrugged. "Or something."


End file.
